1946 Studebaker Custom

You’ve got to admit that the name Studebaker doesn’t give you the impression of wild wheels. But when you convert one into a hybrid hauler using Cadillac body parts and paint it the right colors, it screams for "whazzat?" attention.

Randy Seger picked up this 1946 Studebaker pickup truck in 1995 for only $200. A competent car guy who knows how to cut, chop, smooth, mold and fabricate like one of the Barris boys, he set himself a real task with the Studebaker. He wanted a low look and it had to be different--really different--to satisfy his "neither-fish-nor-fowl" automotive appetite. He did a lot of measuring and junkyard scrounging to come up with this combination, but once work started, he really delved into the project.

Randy started off by sectioning the frame by a massive 77 inches, then wacking the top 4.5-inches. The rear window was replaced with Chevy LUV pickup frame that had been shortened and narrowed. The front fenders were sectioned 3.5 inches on each side, raised a half inch, extended six inches inwards, with 1967 Cadillac front fender flares then molded in.

The work continued with a three-inch stretch to the hood, which was also radius cut to match it up with the new fender lines. This mod required giving the grille some attention, too. For this, Randy dropped it 12 inches, reshaped it, custom-formed 84 stainless steel bars and frenched the license plate mount. He also added suicide doors (at this point, your average bodyworker probably would have committed suicide instead).

With the front half done, Randy turned to building a new bed. The new quarters were formed out of a 1967 Eldorado rear section. Randy moved the wheel openings 14 inches, sliced eight inches out of the width and shortened them three inches. He then formed them all around fabricated inner bead and then, once all the pieces were in place, fashioned a tonneau cover in aluminum with a black Hartz cloth cover.

When all the bodywork was done, Randy had Jim Davis in Cherryville, Kansas, paint the Stude’ in PPG Metallic Purple and Vanilla Shake, with John Freeman adding the pinstriping. The combination turned out quite startling; no, that’s putting it mildly. The whole thing is so out there that you can’t help staring at it, sorta like the Mystery Mud Woman or the two-headed snake at a carnival freak show. (For those who feel compelled to take on an odd-rod project akin to Randy’s, can we watch, by the way?).

Underneath Randy also created an intriguing assemblage of parts. Using the stock frame, he added a narrowed 44-inch, 9-inch Ford axle with 3.00 gears, all suspended by the stock Studebaker springs. Up front he installed a Mustang II independent suspension complete with disc brakes and rack-and-pinion steering. The wheels package adds some nice hot rod to the Stude’, with 14 X 6 American Racing (Coke Bottles) wheels up front and matching 15 X 10s at the rear.

Motorvation comes in the form of a 1971 Chevy 350 small block. Randy had it bored .030 over by the Chuck Hull in Coffeyville, Kansas and built it up with flat-top TRW pistons, TRW cam, double-roller timing chain, and 1974 Chevy 350 heads. The engine is fed by a single 625cfm Edelbrock Performance four-barrel with a matching manifold and air cleaner. Spent gases flow through custom headers and a set of 2.5-inch Dyno mufflers. Shifting the estimated 300 horses to the rear wheels is a stock 1971 Turbo 350 transmission fitted with a custom Hargraves driveshaft.

The last work was to remake the now tiny interior. Randy’s custom dash is fitted with Chevy LUV instruments and a 10-inch steering wheel. The LUV was also the source of the bucket seats that have been retrimmed in black vinyl over black carpet with a new black headliner.

Randy doesn’t do any hauling in his peculiar pickup--except maybe for transporting body parts from a downed UFO. After all, if you carry X-Files material in the back of a whacked-out Stude-Wackr, people aren’t likely to get too curious about what’s in the bed.